14-year-old owl stolen from Wash. bird sanctuary

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SELAH, Wash. (AP) - Investigators want to find whoever took off with an owl from a bird sanctuary in central Washington.

The Yakima County Sheriff's Office says that on Friday, someone entered a building on the Raptor House property in Selah, near Yakima, and took a 14-year-old tawny owl. Deputies are asking people to call if they know who did it.

The owl is glove-trained, and a handler frequently displayed it in classes. It weighs less than a pound and has reddish-brown feathers and pink eyelids.

Shannon Dalan runs the center with his wife, Marsha. He says whoever took the bird, named Sherman, knew what they wanted and left other predators.

No additional details on the theft were released.

The center has about 20 birds, including hawks, falcons and eagles. Some are being rehabbed for return to the wild, and others that can't be released are used for education.

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